Let It Be Love (Effington Family & Friends)

Jonathon Effington is one hot man. This is one of my best books. A real page turner. I loved it. Victoria Alexander Books are a great read.

I give 5 stars because I believe this book is under rated by others, although it's personal opinion and taste. I think this is one of Victoria Alexander's best work. It's simply s delicious fun read. I love the witty flirty playfulness between the two main characters. The story is every well developed and it flows quite well, though the ending part seems lost a bit of the steam. I'm not a big fan of Victoria Alexander but I like this book.

First book I read in 2006 - Happy New Year to me! Set in 1853 London, twenty-five year old Fiona Fairchild is a gorgeous, smart redhead who needs to marry. Her father's will dictates she must wed or else she and her three younger step-sisters won't have dowries. Jonathon Effington, the Marquess of Helmsley, a friend of Fiona's cousin, is a nice man, liked by men and women. He's told his friends he wants to marry but only to a woman who is perfect for him. Fiona proposes marriage to Jonathon. He thinks it's a joke and accepts. Three days later he backs out but feels an obligation to help Fiona. Jonathon and Fiona's cousin concoct a scheme to publish a book to make money so Fiona's not dependent on the will. Of course it gets a little tricky. Great dialogue, laugh out loud funny at times, strong characters, wonderful story with some twists and turns.

Story begins in December, 1853. Jonathon Effington, the Marquess of Helmsley and heir to the Duke of Roxborough, knows he will marry eventually. He simply has yet to meet the lady who can fill all the qualification he demands in a wife. He and his closest friends often discuss these highly set standards. In the meantime, Jonathon writes stories and tries to get published under an anonymous name. (He refuses to be published simply because of his status.) At each Christmas Ball his family hosts, Jonathon selects a lady to share the evening with in bed. This year, the lady he chooses is not waiting for him in his rooms. Instead, he finds an unknown lady awaiting him. She claims to related to one of his close friends, Lord Norcroft "Oliver". She gives him an outrageous story about her father's will and having to marry in order to save her three sisters from poverty. Jonathon believes it all a hoax, set up by his friends. So when she proposes marriage, he accepts. Shortly afterward he finds out Fiona Fairchild told nothing but the absolute truth! Jonathon does not want to marry yet, but he cannot simply retract his word of honor. After all, she IS related to Oliver and is actually living with him at the moment. Oliver, Fiona, and Jonathon decide to enter into a business proposition. Her nude art work and his story, published anonymously. IF the erotic and mythical story sells well, Fiona will not have to wed at all and Jonathon is off the hook. However, unknown to Fiona, Jonathon has no intension of having it published. He will simply claim it is selling well and give her "royalties". Now if only he can keep his hands off her enticing body while they work together. ***** Extremely well done! Fiona is no meek miss! I was totally taken with her character. Jonathon is nothing to sneeze at either. Noble until the end. A little too much so though. All-in-all, Victoria Alexander has an instant winner in this novel. Bring on the next man! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

LET IT BE LOVE takes place in Victorian England, at Christmastime in 1853. Thirty-two year old debonair bachelor Jonathon Effington, Marquess of Helmsley, and future Duke of Roxborough, is a man that has it all ~ wealth, enviable family connections, looks and charisma. He's a man that both men and women like, respect and admire ~ no tortured hero, just a genuinely nice guy. At his club, his friends bring up the subject of marriage and Jonathon brags that he knows exactly what sort of wife he wants, and furthermore, when he finds the woman that meets his qualifications, he won't hesitate to marry her. No docile debutante will do, he wants a wife who will challenge him... After the death of her father, lovely Fiona Fairchild returns to England with her three sisters and accepts the hospitality of her doting Aunt Edwina and caring cousin Oliver. Due to her failure to wed, and having attained the ripe age of 25, Fiona's father placed a stipulation in his will that forces her to marry to gain her (and her sisters) inheritance or face poverty, and the life of a poor relation. She refuses to blindly marry the mysterious American man her father had chosen for her, so she asks Oliver to help her find a husband from among his friends. Oliver feels she'd make the perfect wife for none other than his good friend ~ Jonathan Effington... From the beginning we realize Fiona is a strong-willed confident woman who is aware of her own worth and what she has to offer to a husband. She's not against marriage, she's just not settling. Like any woman that was a challenge would do ~ Fiona takes control of the situation. Working within the constraints Victorian society places upon women, she attempts to arrange things to her advantage ~ by proposing to Jonathon... Every year during the Effington family Christmas ball Jonathon chooses a lady to meet, for champagne and conversation, in the family library. This year Oliver arranges for Fiona to wait there and make her proposal. At first surprised by the shocking offer from the beautiful lady, Jonathon soon believes she is part of a joke being played on him by his friends and foolishly accepts her proposal. He insists on sealing their bargain with a kiss. That kiss turns out to be no ordinary kiss, and when it's followed by her brilliant smile, it reaches inside him and for the first time ~ touches his heart... Later, Jonathon realizes Fiona may be telling the truth and he panics because he believes he's really not ready to settle down and he won't marry because of a mistake. When he goes to Oliver's house to try to extricate himself from his blunder, he finds out that the joke really is on him because Fiona intends to hold him to his agreement to marry her, UNLESS ~ he can come up with a better solution to her dilemma! Author, Victoria Alexander has a phenomenal gift for storytelling and in this story she takes her readers on a merry journey that displays all of her trademarks ~ an engaging plot, an abundance